The Dark Prince Of Belmont County - Bellaire, Ohio

Summary

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Small Town Murder

Episode: "The Dark Prince Of Belmont County – Bellaire, Ohio"

Hosts: James Pietragallo & Jimmie Whisman

Release Date: December 20, 2025

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Episode Overview

In this gripping episode, James and Jimmie return to Ohio—specifically, the small town of Bellaire—for a case they previously covered as a virtual Halloween live show. This time, listeners get the full, in-depth breakdown of the infamous 1995 double murder committed by Nathan Brooks, dubbed by the media as the "Dark Prince of Belmont County." The hosts combine dark humor and thorough research to unpack the town’s history, the Brooks family background, Nathan’s psychological unraveling, and the media-fueled "Satanic Panic" aftermath. Throughout, they maintain their signature balance of empathy for the victims and comedic commentary on both local characters and the over-the-top demonic explanations that followed.

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Key Segments & Discussion Points

1. Introducing Bellaire, Ohio (05:14–11:54)

• Geography and Demographics:
  • Small town in eastern Ohio, “Glass City.”
  • Population: ~3,927.
  • Median household income: $39,972—nearly half the national average.
  • Median home cost: $92,100.
• History:
  • Founded in 1836, named after Bel Air, Maryland.
  • Notable for its historic glass industry and the now-abandoned Bellaire Bridge, featured in Silence of the Lambs.
• Local Color and Events:
  • High school football central to community ("Go Big Reds!").
  • Festivals: Harvest Festival, scarecrow contest, square dancing, pet parade.
• Town Reviews:
  • Range from glowing praise for small-town life to concerns about decline and drugs, though statistically low crime rates.

Memorable Quotes

• "People just smoking glass all over the place." – James [06:32]
• “Midwest does do a hot dog pretty well.” – Jimmy [10:34]

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2. The Brooks Family & Early Red Flags (12:09–22:44)

• Family Background:
  • Terry (dad) – former mail carrier, strict, heavy drinker.
  • Marilyn (mom) – pension clerk, seen as very kind.
  • Three sons: James (oldest), Nathan (middle), Ryan (youngest).
• Nathan Brooks:
  • Once wanted to be a priest and altar boy—“Not a lot of 12-year-olds going, ‘Hey, what's up with this? No sex, weird smell… Floor length frock?’” – James [16:35]
  • Early signs of trouble:
    • Animal cruelty—nailing live fish to trees.
    • Fascination with death and the occult.
    • Regular butane inhalation, possible resulting brain damage.
    • Not fitting in at school; obsessed with satanic imagery and literature.
    • Became a loner as younger brother Ryan excelled in football and popularity.

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3. Building Tensions & The Hit List (22:44–41:30)

• Nathan’s Reputation:
  • Perceived as weird rather than overtly dangerous. Multiple classmates recall unsettling conversations or "dark vibes," but most adults dismiss concerns as teenage acting out.
• Obsession with Satanism:
  • Takes Satanic Bible to school; boasts about smelling “rotting flesh.”
• Escalating Disturbances:
  • Nathan reportedly tells people he’ll be “famous by Saturday.” [20:33]
  • Development of a “hit list” with classmates’ and family members' names, annotated with methodical and gruesome plans.
• Comedic Riff:
  • James and Jimmie lampoon the era’s "Satanic Panic" and Nathan’s performative darkness:
    • “Same reason some guy in prison will just smear himself in shit, so people leave him alone.” – James [22:09]

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4. The Murders: September 30–October 1, 1995 (33:44–39:36)

• Sequence of Events:
  • High school football game night; Ryan stays at a friend's house, calls home, Nathan tries to lure him back, claiming parents want him home.
  • Nathan visits friend’s house in the early hours, looking for Ryan.
  • Ryan eventually returns home and finds a note: “This is Nathan. I murdered two people and I’m going to turn myself in.” [35:57]
  • Discovery:
    • Marilyn (mom): Stabbed, axed, bludgeoned with hammer, knife embedded, nails nearby.
    • Terry (dad): Shot, decapitated, head placed in a wash basin surrounded by ashes, Halloween mask, and a makeshift “altar”.

Notable Moment

• “Just a random wash basin with the dad’s head in it.” – Jimmie [37:15]

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5. Aftermath & Investigation (40:13–55:51)

• Nathan’s Capture:
  • Arrested without incident, admits to planning more murders and that he had intended to kill his brother, too.
  • Detailed hit lists found—16 names, some annotated things like "dismember," "eviscerate," or “molest some.”
• Police & Public Reaction:
  • Panic about more victims; sensational rumors spread about lists and Satanic cults.
  • Law enforcement and media quickly run with the ritualistic angle due to the crime scene setup.
• Psychological Profile:
  • Claims to have “talked to Satan.”
    • “Do you talk to Satan?” – Sheriff
    • “Yeah, a little bit. … Just like you talk to the Lord, sometimes he answers back.” – Nathan [52:37]
• Community Shock:
  • Cancelled Halloween due to fears of satanic activity spreading.

Memorable Quotes

• “He left a variety of weapons. … Just a choose your own murder adventure kit.” – James [38:17]
• “He planned to kill the priest, cut him up, and eat him on a hot dog bun.” – James [47:10]
• “He was gonna kill a bunch more people. That was the plan!” – James [43:20]

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6. Courtroom, Sentencing, and Cultural Fallout (74:06–82:27)

• Legal Proceedings:
  • Nathan pleads not guilty by reason of insanity.
  • Split among experts; ultimately found legally sane, guilty on all counts; sentenced to 43 years (the maximum possible).
• Demonic Possession Theories:
  • Local and national “demonic experts” provide pseudo-psychological explanations.
    • “I think demons are smart enough to know that these little penny nails won’t hold up a body.” – Retired NYPD ‘demonologist’ Ralph Srirache [67:37]
  • Jimmie and James mock the wild logic and "demonic construction knowledge."
• Community Hysteria:
  • Bellaire cancels trick or treating; parents escort children the following year.
  • Churches host anti-Satanism seminars; townsfolk “sleeping with their parents” out of fear.
    • “Dress as Evel Knievel, you're going to get possessed!” – Jimmie [72:15]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

| Timestamp | Quote/Description | Speaker | |---|---|---| | 16:35 | “Not a lot of 12-year-olds going, ‘Hey, what's up with this? No sex, weird smell… Floor length frock?’” | James | | 22:09 | “Same reason some guy in prison will just smear himself in shit, so people leave him alone.” | James | | 35:57 | “This is Nathan. I murdered two people and I’m going to turn myself in.” | The note Ryan found | | 37:15 | “Just a random wash basin with the dad’s head in it.” | Jimmie | | 38:17 | “Just a choose your own murder adventure kit.” | James | | 47:10 | “He wanted to kill [the priest], cut up and eat on a hot dog bun.” | James | | 52:37 | “Yeah, a little bit. … Just like you talk to the Lord, sometimes he answers back.” | Nathan (to Sheriff) | | 67:37 | “I think demons are smart enough to know that these little penny nails won’t hold up a body.” | Ralph Srirache (mocked by hosts) | | 72:15 | “Dress as Evel Knievel, you're going to get possessed!” | Jimmie |

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Takeaways & Episode Tone

• Darkly Comedic Yet Empathetic:

  • While never making light of the victims, the hosts maintain snarky commentary on the more absurd elements—especially the Satanic Panic and local rumors.

• Critique of Outsized Reactions:

  • Systematic sendup of sensationalist media, clueless "demonic experts," and small-town myths.
  • Hosts repeatedly emphasize the importance of mental health care over supernatural explanations.

• Deep Dive into the Case:

  • Intriguing blend of historical detail, psychological assessment, and real-life horror.
  • Balanced mix of gallows humor and genuine shock at the brutality of the crime.

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Important Timestamps

• 05:14 — Introduction to Bellaire, Ohio
• 12:09 — Brooks family dynamics & Nathan’s early behavior
• 22:44 — Satanic obsessions and rumors in high school
• 33:44 — The night of the murder
• 41:29 — Initial police investigation and the infamous note
• 47:01 — Reading through the “hit list”
• 52:37 — Nathan’s interrogation (“Yeah, I talk to Satan…”)
• 67:36 — The “demonic influence” theories and media aftermath
• 74:07 — Court, sentencing, and town’s reaction

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For New Listeners

This episode is an exemplary entry point: it offers classic Small Town Murder fare—thorough storytelling, community context, and sharp comic commentary on both the true crime and the culture surrounding it. If you missed the live Halloween event or have only heard passing references to the “Dark Prince” case, this detailed exploration delivers everything—tragedy, hysteria, and small-town strangeness—leavened with wit.

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Transcript

[James Petregallo]

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[Jimmy Wisman]

Drew Ski, lift with your legs, man.

[James Petregallo]

Santa.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Santa, did you get my letter?

[James Petregallo]

He's talking to you britches. I'm not. Of course he did.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Right, Santa, you know my elf Drew Ski here. He handles the nice list.

[James Petregallo]

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[Jimmy Wisman]

Or give it as a gift.

[James Petregallo]

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[Jimmy Wisman]

Choo choo.

[James Petregallo]

Oh yay indeed, Jimmy. Yay indeed. My name is James Petregallo. I'm here with my co host.

[Jimmy Wisman]

I am Jimmy Wisman.

[James Petregallo]

Thank you folks so much for joining us today. All aboard the Murder train pulling away from the station. We have a wild episode for you. We had done this for our virtual live show for Halloween. So you know, this is absolutely crazy. If it's crazy enough for a live show, it is absolutely crazy. And a little more information we have for you and all that kind of thing. So we'll get into all that and more. First though, head over to shut up and give me murder.com. get your merchandise, get your tickets for live shows for 2026. They are all for sale right now. You can get them. I'm going to read the cities, not the dates. But we start off in February 21st in Nashville and then from there, Durham, Atlanta, Phoenix. There's also a you stupid opinions Phoenix show. So get in there and get that. Salt Lake City sold out. Don't worry about that. Denver, Buffalo, Royal Oak, Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Jose, Sacramento, Tarrytown and Boston. So get your tickets right now. Can't wait to see everybody out there. We had a blast this year with the live show. So much fun and thank you all so much for supporting these.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Yeah, thank you, man.

[James Petregallo]

It's amazing. So do that. Also listen to our other shows, crime in sports. Check that out, you stupid opinions also, which is just hilarious right now. Really good stuff. So get into that. Oh, also, we just did psa Hate this movie about the Alicia Silverstone Christmas rom com. So you can check that out. Most of all though, get your. Oh, it's crazy. It's a wild story.

[Jimmy Wisman]

What's the movie?

[James Petregallo]

Merry little Xmas. It's interesting. Alicia Silverstone's movie and Melissa Joan Hart is in it. It's another show. Oh yeah, exactly. The 90s have exploded onto Christmas for this one.

[Jimmy Wisman]

What was that show?

[James Petregallo]

Oh, was she Sabrina or she. The other one. Yeah, the teenage witch.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Is that her thing?

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's what she did.

[Jimmy Wisman]

I forget what it was called. It doesn't.

[James Petregallo]

Clarissa explains it all. I don't know. I have no idea. She's somebody.

[Jimmy Wisman]

So she did a TV show.

[James Petregallo]

Definitely. Also, get yourself Patreon. You need that patreon.com crimeinsports anybody? $5 a month or above. You're gonna get so much stuff. First of all and immediately upon subscription, a huge back catalog of bonus episodes you've never heard before. Then new ones every other week. One Crime and sports, one Small town Murder and you get it all, everybody. This week for crime and sports, we're gonna talk about a crazy criminal Australian cricket player. We know nothing about cricket, so that's always hilarious. And then for Small town murder, it's Charles Starkweather Part 2. Whose fault is it? His or his 13 year old girlfriend's? Well, they're gonna probably hers. Yeah, obviously we have the opposing sides and they're both talking and it's really funny stuff. So check that out. And also crazy, that's patreon.com crimeinsports and addition to that, you also get everything. We put out all the shows we do all ad free on Patreon as well. And you get a shout out at the end of the regular show. So it's a Good deal. Patreon.com CrimeInSports. That said, I think it's time, everybody, let's do this. Let's all clear the lungs here. Arms to the sky. Let's all shout, shut up and give me murder. Let's do this, everybody.

[Jimmy Wisman]

All right.

[James Petregallo]

Let's go on a trip, shall we? We're going to Ohio this week.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

And we're going a little bit shorter than we would normally between states because we did an Ohio episode in August, so usually it would be a couple more months, but we're going to put it in here because it was the virtual live show and want to give it to you as kind of a holiday thing. So here you go. Enjoy. This is Bel Air, Ohio. Far eastern Ohio, by the way. All the way over. Oh, by the other states over there.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It's about Kentucky.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, boy. Kentucky and West Virginia and all those states. Yeah.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Philadelphia, Pittsburgh.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah, yeah. Philadelphia is right there.

[Jimmy Wisman]

The state of Philadelphia.

[James Petregallo]

The state. Oh, the lovely state of Philadelphia. The commonwealth of Philadelphia. An hour and ten minutes to Pittsburgh. About two hours to Columbus, Ohio, the other direction. And about three hours and ten minutes to our last Ohio episode, which was Willard, Ohio. That was the lawnmower man. That was when we had special guest Will forte in with us.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Which goddamn nice guy.

[Jimmy Wisman]

He is worried about who ran over the arm.

[James Petregallo]

That was so funny.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Who ran over the head. Whichever.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, yeah, he was. What a great guy, though. No, no attitude.

[Jimmy Wisman]

No sweetheart of a man.

[James Petregallo]

Right into the crew. What a good guy.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Unbelievable.

[James Petregallo]

This is in Pulteney county. Area code 740. It is a small town. Population 3, 3927. So not a lot of people. Median household income here, also pretty low. Almost half the national average. It's about $39,972. So that's low for a household. And then median home cost here, also very low, though. So that's good. 92,100 bucks. So very low for that nickname of this town. Glass city. Yeah, yeah. People just smoking glass all over the place.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Lots of drug usage.

[James Petregallo]

Wow. Little bit of history here. Apparently the French trappers and explorers are the first kind of Europeans to be in this area here. They came in to look for shit. The founding of Bel air was in 1836. Its name, Bel Air, is inspired by the Maryland town of the same name, Bel Air and Bel Air, now, they made a ton of glass here. They had the discovery of natural gas deposits. Put them on the map, and then people would flock to the area. And that's when the glass manufacturing industry was huge here. These Glass factories had a lot of jobs obviously. And they had the belt. There was like 15 companies. I'd read them off, but Belmont Glassworks, Bel air Window Glass Co. And then like 15 others with Glass & Co. In the.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Title. Just a glass company. They're making like panes of.

[James Petregallo]

Glass? Yeah, they're making glass. Manufacturing glass. They also had a bottle company and then another bottle company. So they're making glass. Why not? 1937, huge flood here. Ohio river floods this joint huge. The Bel Air Bridge, which is now abandoned and shut down was used as a location for the Silence of the Lambs. When they go to that shitty looking bridge and all that. That is this bridge.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Basically. Was she jogging? Why did they do.

[James Petregallo]

That? I don't remember exactly what part it was, but I think you see it a few times. Reviews of this town. Let's find out. Because we don't know anything about it. Nothing. Here's five stars. And this is perfect because they just got here too. So. Excellent. Just moved here. Great figuring it out. Yeah. Former TV news anchor in a major city. Hated my job and living in a big city. Just picked a small town on the map near my family in Pittsburgh to raise my small children. We love it so.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Far. How much money do they.

[James Petregallo]

Make? I was gonna say if you can just be like, I don't have to work or anything. So eh. There. I'll just.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Move. Throw a dart. I've had enough of this. What?

[James Petregallo]

Wow. You're lucky. You.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Should. How old are you? Two young.

[James Petregallo]

Children. You got two young children. They can't be 65. They gotta be at least, you know, in their 40s at the most.

[Jimmy Wisman]

So.

[James Petregallo]

Wow. Doing great. They must have crushed it as an anchor in their big city. Who are.

[Jimmy Wisman]

You? Yeah, we've done fine. But I can't do that. I want.

[James Petregallo]

That. Oh, just pick a. Throw a dart at a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Map. Gets famous.

[James Petregallo]

James. Jesus.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Christ. Fuck famous. Let's just get real.

[James Petregallo]

Rich. We need some anchor work. James Petragala reporting live. We can do.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It. I think we gotta not swear is the.

[James Petregallo]

Problem. That's the problem. Yeah. Eat shit.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Nevermind. They're gonna send me to cover some field day in an elementary.

[James Petregallo]

School. And I was like, this is. This is fucking boring, everybody. Boring as shit. Let me tell you. Three stars. I was born and raised in Bel Air. I've raised my two children here also. Bel Air is a town that has lost so much. It used to be a booming business town due to it being right on the Ohio River. But many businesses have been closed. The Residents are some of the most caring people you'll ever meet. We love our high school football. Go Big.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Reds. Go Big.

[James Petregallo]

Reds. All about this high school football team here. There are a few amazing family owned restaurants to choose from. You'll never find a better hot dog than the ones that Gullah.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Sells.

[James Petregallo]

What? Gullah's sells hot dogs? I don't.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Know. Is it the.

[James Petregallo]

Best? Apparently.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It'S. They're gonna.

[James Petregallo]

Beat. Nathan's the absolute best. Yeah, it's gonna beat it all. Sobrette's, all of it. I don't.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Know. Midwest does do a hot dog pretty well. Yeah, they'll besmirch them too.

[James Petregallo]

Hard. I'm up to try put it that way. Two stars. Bel Air is known for its historical places and such, but the town today is very run down and can be dangerous. With all of the drugs and.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Crime. Yeah. And all the broken.

[James Petregallo]

Glass. It's just glass everywhere. What are you gonna do? Things to do in this town. The Bel Air Harvest Festival. Very exciting. We have a scarecrow contest. Sure. There we go. You show off your creativity with a whimsical and competitive scarecrow. Decorating.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Contestants. Whimsical.

[James Petregallo]

One. Whimsical. We have kid friendly activities. And then of course, we have the bands.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Obviously. Oh.

[James Petregallo]

Boy. Oh, yeah, we have a ton. We have. Oh, there's a best dressed pet parade as well, which is always fun. There is square dancing right in the street. Sure. Rocktoberfest. They don't tell you what bands will be there and then all they tell you is live music and harvest cocktails. They don't tell you what live music is happening here. You know, disappointment. You know what it is. Yeah. There's also a petting farm. So there's all of that stuff. Yeah. And by the way, they're saying all the drugs and crime, the crime rate here is like half of the national.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Average. So it's pretty.

[James Petregallo]

Safe. Compared with a lot of places in this region, especially in West Virginia and places like that. This is a very safe town. That said, let's talk about some murder. Let's do this. I remember this story. It was wild. We're going to start in.

[Jimmy Wisman]

1995.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. Yeah. Let's talk about a married couple, Terry and Marilyn Brooks. Terry's born in 1942, Marilyn in 1943. So they're in their 50s at this point, early 50s. He, Terry, he went to school in the Mansfield area. And Marilyn ended up moving to north central Ohio from Fremont and married this guy. Got it. So they met at school here. The couple moved away from the Ohio area after he went into a branch of the service, so they were stationed somewhere else. Then Terry Brooks, after he got out of the service, was a mail carrier for years and years. And he's in a small town. Everybody knows the mailman. Yeah, there's a few mail men. Everybody knows them. And it's. You wave at them, hey, Terry, how's it going? Everybody knows them. And Marilyn was a pension clerk for the United States or United Mine Workers of.

[Jimmy Wisman]

America. Pensions for.

[James Petregallo]

Miners. Pensions for miners. She's distributing those. So she's known as a very nice woman. Now, a neighbor who lived in the area said, but the dad, I met him years back, and he was a moody guy. Moody, liked to drink, from what I understand. He was really, really strict with the.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Kids. The.

[James Petregallo]

Mailman. The mailman is strict. Terry does not take shit. You put it in the slot, then you close the box. God damn it. Now, they have a couple of sons here. They have James, who was born around 1971. They have Nathan John Brooks, who was born April 23, 1978. Then another son, Ryan, is born in 1979. Oh, so they have three boys here, and two of them are very close in age, and one is seven years older than the younger.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Two. So he wants nothing to do with those.

[James Petregallo]

Boys. Nothing to do. They are interrupting his masturbation. That's all they're doing, interrupting him, whacking it. Want for applesauce? Leave me alone. Yeah, I'm trying to beat off. Go away. You're not getting any lunchables right now. Eat shit. So when we get to 1995, both Nathan and Ryan are going to high school together. Obviously. Go big Reds going to that high school. And Nathan's a senior. And Nathan had played football as a freshman and sophomore and then kind of got out of sports, wasn't really into it anymore. Ryan, on the other hand, is a Jr. In 1995 and still plays on the team and is very.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Good. Oh, look at.

[James Petregallo]

That. Really is into sports. He's a different kind of guy. Nathan kind of pulled himself out of all that kind of organized stuff. Now in 1995, they're in the middle of an undefeated season. The big Reds.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Here.

[James Petregallo]

Fantastic. Yeah, it's wild stuff. And apparently, from what people said, one person said the biggest thing that holds people together in this town is high school.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Football.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. They said there's so much talent that comes out of here because of the NFL, and you'll see everybody, whether they like each other or not, at the football Game side by side. So that's the town.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Activity. A lot of them made the NFL up.

[James Petregallo]

There. I don't know if they made the. I think a couple of guys made the NFL, but I think it's just this area, Western Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio is. They're crazy for football. I mean, you think about like, that's where Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, all those guys all came from that area. The Pittsburgh and West area.

[Jimmy Wisman]

There. So now it's a tough area, essentially, is pushing.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. Either idea of slinging crack rock or you got a wicked jump shot, you know, it's one of those things. It's the Midwestern small town version of that. You're either smoking crack rock or you got a wicked tackle shot. One of the two. That's. That's different. Now, Nathan here, the oldest second boy, the middle boy, he started out as an altar boy and wanted to be a priest when he grew up. That was his goal. Yeah, he was all about it. Wanted to be a priest. Yeah. It's wild. And the monsignor said, quote, I don't have too many young people telling me they want to be priests or ministers. So I definitely remembered when he was inquiring about it. Yeah, that's fascinating. You don't get a lot of 12 year olds going, hey, what's up with this? No sex. Weird smell in the air all the.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Time. Good for.

[James Petregallo]

Me. Floor length frock I think I could get with this. Yeah.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Yeah. All the fucking incense, all the.

[James Petregallo]

Smells. Yeah. Smell all the time. It's just weird. Everyone thinking you're a pedophile, you know, it's just people making all sorts of jokes. Even your own parishioners all giggling, making jokes about it. Like, this is terrible. So Nathan learned a lot of Latin, which is interesting. Another thing, though, Nathan had a babysitter, a young lady, you know, one of these teenage babysitters that you stick kids with. And she introduced him to some because she was into like metal and like satanic type shit. But like, you know, 80s satanic shit. Like, I don't know, you draw a pentagram on your fucking. On your Trapper Keeper and you wear a big wall of hair. And then once you graduate, you get normal and you go get a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Job, you know, scream, shout at the devil for a little bit and then move.

[James Petregallo]

Along. That's all. Yeah, that's it. You're a big Metallica fan. That's, you know, whatever. So I guess as a child he used to do some weird shit and they don't know if this yeah, we don't know if this is. He, like, got these satanic ideas and then went and did this shit. Or if he's just kind of a weird kid and weird ideas kind of get others. Yeah, well, weird ideas kind of stick with him because he likes weird shit. Sure. One neighbor said that. Wow. I guess as a child he used to nail fish. He'd go fishing, get a fish and nail it to trees while they were. Nail the fish to a tree while it was still alive. So he could watch it die on the tree for some.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Reason.

[James Petregallo]

Yikes. Rather than on the ground or any other place that you'd watch a fish die. It's just a strange thing to.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Do. I don't know. You generally don't even have to watch it. You just throw it in the ice box and walk.

[James Petregallo]

Away. That's what I'm saying. Creepy. To want to watch something, to wanna watch it. It's weird. Yeah, you try not to do that. You don't wanna see it. You know what I mean? Also, he just kind of got an obsession with death. He was just real intrigued by death. Also, he had a little weird habit of butane inhaling, which I didn't even know was a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Thing. Yeah, I.

[James Petregallo]

Didn'T. I grew up with a lot of morons who did a lot of dumb shit. I remember kids inhaling Scotchgard, Freon, anything they can get their hands on that would get them high. Nobody ever said, give me that butane. So I don't know what the hell he was.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Doing. Yeah. Who? All right. I mean, I guess. I guess. But who sucks on a bicycle? Zippo. That's not a.

[James Petregallo]

Thing. That would be different lighter fluid. You got the.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Butanes. Is it. Is it not.

[James Petregallo]

Butane? No, no, no. In a Zippo, it's that liquid shit that you pour in actual lighter fluid and it soaks into the.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Cotton. I swore that was just liquid.

[James Petregallo]

Butane. That's a different. Different thing. But, yeah, butane is in the gas.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Form. It'll give you a rash on your thigh if you overfill it. I do know.

[James Petregallo]

That. Oh, that.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Will.

[James Petregallo]

Oh. I had one, a bad butane. Stayed at a friend's house, fell asleep. Woke up with my whole entire leg. Just a huge, nasty rash. From a butane? From a Zippo that opened in my pocket. Now, he would inhale one or two cans of butane per day at one point. Cans, cans, anything with any kind of propellant or anything like that is giving you fucking brain damage. It's not good for you. It's.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Bad.

[James Petregallo]

Fascinating. Anything like that is bad for you. He likes to drink, he does drugs and, you know, when he's a teenager. And a lot of kids do.

[Jimmy Wisman]

That.

[James Petregallo]

Sure. So this is kind of why he got out of football and things like that. At school, he was. People thought of him as quiet but polite, a bit of a loner, but he wasn't trying to make a spectacle out of himself. They also noticed that he had kind of a real obsession with the occult. He really got into that. At one point he told one of his classmates, during 1995, I'm going to be famous by.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Saturday.

[James Petregallo]

Oh. So that's.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Pretty. Really put a timeline on.

[James Petregallo]

It. I'm going to be famous at.

[Jimmy Wisman]

The end of the week. I'm going to be.

[James Petregallo]

Famous. And that could be for any.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Reason.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. He said, I'm gonna cure cancer by Saturday. I have it all locked down in my room. I gotta get back to that pretty.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Soon. They invented a new way to huff.

[James Petregallo]

Butane. It's wild. Everyone's gonna know about it. So according to his brother Ryan, the younger brother, the youngest, Nathan, collected animal bones as a teenager, too. Just collected them. That's weird. But I know people who do weird shit like that, you know what I mean? And they make things out of them or whatever, and they're weird and that we had somebody send us, like, skulls made into something. Yeah, they seem like nice people. Yeah, they seem like nice people. And it's fine. So I'm not going to judge him on collecting animal bones, but when you put it all into perspective with all the other stuff, it starts to get weird at that.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Point. Is there a display, a shadow.

[James Petregallo]

Box? That's what I'm.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Wondering. Just in a fucking.

[James Petregallo]

Trunk. His parents were even told on multiple occasions that counseling would be a good idea for him, but never got any counseling. He is into the Satanic Bible.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Though.

[James Petregallo]

Okay. Which a lot of kids. This is the thing, though. In the mid-90s, a lot of kids would do this just to have a personality, just to have a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Thing. Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. You know, look at the West Memphis three. You know what I mean? They were just trying to freak people out. That's all they were.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Doing. That's the same kid that told everybody that he's seen all the faces of.

[James Petregallo]

Death. Exactly. It's that kid. Yeah. I'm super dark.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Man.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. And that's a way to keep people away from you and to keep people from beating you up or picking on.

[Jimmy Wisman]

You. And it's mostly the.

[James Petregallo]

Latter.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Throw.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. Yeah. That's what it.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Is. It's not even just to keep people away. It's the self preservation. I'm tired of getting.

[James Petregallo]

Wedgies. Yeah, exactly. If I'm weird and crazy, then everyone will just leave me alone. It's the same reason some guy in prison will just smear himself in shit. That way people leave him alone. You know what I mean? Or they're really crazy. So he also claims he takes the satanic Bible to school, which freaks people out, obviously, the teachers and such. And he claims to always have a smell of rotting flesh about him. He can smell it all the time. Oh, real weird.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Strange. Other people can't smell it. He smells.

[James Petregallo]

It. He smells it. One person here and another girl at the Burger King who described herself as a friend of Nathan's suggested not that much of unusual shit going on. She said that she'd heard him talk of dabbling in devil worship. And she said that Nathan would fight with his mom frequently. And he also hated his younger brother.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Ryan. Oh, he hates.

[James Petregallo]

Ryan. Ryan is popular and can do everything. Ryan plays football. Ryan is very popular in school. He's the kid pulling off to himself going, leave me alone. I'm a weird Satanist. So he hates that his brother's popular and he hates all that shit. Can't stand him. So this is from Ryan's, the younger brother's friend's mom. Okay. She said she never heard Ryan mention a problem with, you know, the parents and Nathan or anything like that. But she sensed that Ryan spent a lot of time at her house because of tension with his brother Nathan. Okay, which makes sense here. Apparently Nathan was known as, I mean, a nice guy, not a crazy guy. One person said he sort of did some crazy stuff. But a lot of people do weird things when they're young. So everyone just blew this off as normal teenage behavior because most of the time that's what it is. And people grow out of it. And eventually they have two kids and their soul dies and they drink when they get home from work and they pray for the sweet release of death. That's normal. That lawn is mowed, but the lawn will be mowed. Another person from school heard Nathan talk about killing people. And I'm going to kill a bunch of people and stuff like that. But this person said no one really took him seriously when he said that. He said it like it was a joke. He didn't say it like he was serious. He said it like he was, you know, just blowing off steam and whatever. Another one here. Oh, boy. A girl on the bus. That's a few years younger than Nathan. She's on the bus. She said she never came across someone that gave her such a dark.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Feeling. Dark.

[James Petregallo]

Feeling. She said that she knew to stay away from Nathan, quote due to his aura. A lot of 11 year old girls, very hip to auras. They understand.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It. She.

[James Petregallo]

Robs. Yeah. She said just being on the bus with him was weird. And she said not many people are in tune with that. But I, at 10 years old, that stood out to.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Me. That's what I.

[James Petregallo]

Did. It's what I did. She said you generally someone who makes your blood run cold on a daily basis. And to me I just feel like. And maybe that's why I don't remember anything prior to that. So his dark aura wiped her memory as a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Child. Just.

[James Petregallo]

Men. And blacked her just from being on the.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Bus. Yeah. That's a fascinating bluebird ride.

[James Petregallo]

Love. Whoa, that is some strange shit. He said maybe he was just a regular kid before that, but when the energy shifted, when he started dabbling into it, I just know that it was very non natural and that it was very heavy and dark and uncomfortable. So at this time in particular, she said I was in the seating and he was sitting in front of me and had this other kid around his age and they were older than me. She said I was sitting behind them and I just remember them goofing off and kind of laughing. Oh my God. Kids on a bus, goofing off. Are they laughing? Oh my God. Jesus. No, not.

[Jimmy Wisman]

That. He was no good when he.

[James Petregallo]

Laughed. You can tell. I said these kids are laughing on a bus. She said I was fixated on it because I was just so uncomfortable and I just wanted to get to my stomach stop. So I'm watching the road, how many turns to get to my house? And I remember I could see my bus stop and I'm getting excited. She said and I go to stand up and the boys sitting with him wrapped my arm and held it down on top of the seat. And as he did it, almost simultaneously, Nathan scratched my arm, my forearm. I ran off the bus, okay. And I ran off the bus kind of in shock and uncomfortable. And it wasn't until I was walking home and I looked down and I'm like, wow, he broke the skin on my arm. And she said I didn't tell my parents about it. I didn't draw any attention because I didn't want to deal with.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It. A man scratched you? She's making a big deal. This is.

[James Petregallo]

Trauma. Also, what kind of like 14 year olds are like, grab that 10 year old, I want to scratch her arm. I've never even heard of that before. So I don't know if she sounds a little wacky. I'll be honest with.

[Jimmy Wisman]

You. She's fun, I'll tell you.

[James Petregallo]

That. This was from this documentary on Scare TV network and this person seemed a little wacky just hearing from him. I don't know. That's just my. But Nathan's wacky too, so it might be true. I mean, who nails a fish to a tree? So he might just say, I want to scratch a young girl. Who knows? Hey everybody. Just going to take a quick break from the show to tell you about the best holiday gift you can get anybody. It is an aura frame. You can find them at auraframes. This is it, everybody. If you're looking for a gift still and you're like, oh man, anything I get now is going to look like I just, you know, picked it up on the way at a 711 or something. No, no, no. You can get this. And this looks great. Looks like you bought this. You thought about them in July and you were like, I and I know the perfect gift. And it's an aura frame because that's how awesome they are. It's going to look like you had this plan the whole time. It's hard to find personal gifts for people. You don't know what they want. You don't know what they already have. You don't know what other people are getting them. It's very difficult. I get aura frames for everybody and everyone loves them. It's not something they're going to take and put in their closet. They're going to have it displayed right in the kitchen. Usually that's where everybody has it. And everybody always social gatherings will end up standing around the aura frame and talking about the pictures. It's amazing. It's so good to see everything on the digital frame. Everybody loves it. If you haven't aunt or a mother or even someone who just had a baby, oh my goodness, they have so many pictures. This is going to be great. And you can do it too. You can have unlimited free photos and videos. You just download the Aura app, connect to WI Fi. You can even preload it before it ships. And all straight from your phone all year long. You can't wrap togetherness, but you can frame it for a limited time. Save on the perfect gift by visiting auraframes.com to get $35 off Aura's best selling Carver mat frames named one by Wirecutter by using promo code smalltownmurder at checkout. That's a U R A frames.com promo code smalltown Murder. This deal is exclusive to listeners and frames sell out fast. So order yours now and get it in time for the holidays. Support the show by mentioning us at checkout. Terms and conditions apply. Hey everybody. Just gonna take a quick break from the show to tell you how to get your house cleaner with homag. Homaglow.com oh, you know it. Homaglow is a five star home service platform dedicated to making your space clean and tidy. With their easy online booking capabilities, you can instantly schedule top rated cleaners in your area for a special occasion or even regularly with their Forever clean membership. That is awesome. And it's good stuff they send. Well, they clean my house. They did a great job. Spotless. Love that awesome stuff. Dog hair in places. They got dog hair. Three dogs. There's dog hair everywhere. So I know the spots it collects in and I can see if someone and they cleaned it really well. It's stuff I usually do, so it's not bad. Or Sarah's in there doing it. This is great though. You need home a glow. It is awesome. You're gonna have Christmas Eve at your house. You're gonna have a big celebration. How about what are you gonna do there? You gotta have your house clean. That way you can have them clean your house and you can maximize your time which is important. Homoglo I loved it. I'm going to keep using them because I think they're really good home cleaning. I mean you want your home to be clean, obviously, but who wants to do it themselves? No one wants that. So this is what you need. The online booking capabilities that allow you to instantly schedule a cleaner in your area for a special occasion, party or even regularly. That's what you need. The cleaners pass a rigorous certificate certification process. They maintain a 4.8 star average platform rating. It's a fantastic way also to support the cleaners in your community. 100% of the cleaning fees and tips go directly to your cleaners. And like I said, it was easy to make the appointment. They showed up on time. They cleaned my house really well. Like they got dog hair out everywhere and then they left. It was wonderful. You couldn't, couldn't beat it. Greatest transaction going. Take home cleaning off your plate this holiday season by using home aglow. Head to homeaglow.comsmalltown murder to get your first three hours of cleaning for only $19. That's h o m e a g l o w.comsmalltown murder now back to the show. Now Eric's Ryan's friend's dad, said, I had a lot more relationship with Ryan because I coached him. I can't say a whole lot about Nathan because I really didn't develop any kind of relationship with me. He used to cut grass for me. I mean, I used to do a cemetery up for the Mount Zion Cemetery, and he used to cut grass for me. So he was like a maintenance man for the cemetery and he would hire Nathan to cut grass. He was a good kid. I mean, I never thought anything bad about him. Everybody said, though, his parents were very hard on him. Some people would say that. And a lot of people said that Nathan took the brunt of Terry's whatever, his wrath. Basically, it was all about Nathan. Now, Nathan also got into weird shit, which made Terry get more mad at him. And it was kind of a circular thing here. And also he got into weird shit because his dad was always mad at him. So it's very circular here. Now, the last week of September 1995, they have an older brother, James, who, he said, who's at this point married and all that kind of thing. Ryan had spent the weekend in Martins Ferry, Ohio, with the brother and his wife. Ryan had been visiting his brother and wife. September 30, 1995. Ryan plays in the football game that night. The Big Reds won that day, by the way. So he was going to spend the night at his friend's house at the trailer park that's nearby. So 12:30am Ryan, who's 16, is hanging out. He's at his buddy Eric Barrite's house and they're hanging out, staying up late, you know, doing what kids do, having a good time. Especially if you had a football game that night, it's going to take a while to come down from that to, like, sleep. We do a comedy.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Show. I am.

[James Petregallo]

Nightmare. I'm amped. I can't do anything till 4 in the morning. I can't think of resting, you know what I mean? You're just jacked from that. So I would assume it's the same thing. So they're hanging out about 1:30 in the morning. Ryan decides he should check in with his parents. They should let him know I'm here and just kind of came over. So he calls his parents now on the other end. Nathan's there. He answers and Ryan says, tell mom and dad that I'm staying with Eric tonight. Nathan says, no, you can't. I think mom and dad want you.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Home?

[James Petregallo]

Oh. Which is strange. So he's like, oh, really? And he's like, yeah, that's what I heard. That's what they said. They want you home. You know how dad gets. And so Ryan was like, all right, I guess I'll come home then. But he doesn't come home right away. And. Which is probably. And I'm just going to make a completely speculative thing here, they're teenagers. He might have had a couple of beers, might have smoked a joint or something, whatever it is, who knows? And it could be anything. But I'm just saying, probably wanted a chill for a minute. So he waits an hour before coming.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Home. Yeah, let this buzz wear.

[James Petregallo]

Off. That's what I'm. If it was me, that's what would have been my reasoning. So I'm not saying that's Ryan, but that's me. So he doesn't go home right away. He's having fun and all that kind of shit. So Nathan. An hour goes by and he never comes home. So Nathan goes looking for him. He shows up at the trailer around 2 or 3 in the morning. So Eric's mom is sleeping. That's the friend there. The mom's sleeping. She hears someone pounding on the door. She opens it and there's Nathan. He looks disheveled and out of breath and panicked. She said, it's a long ride. Yeah. So he asks if Ryan's there. She tells him no and shuts the door and locks it. Fuck off. It's 3 o' clock in the morning. So now Eric had driven Ryan back home. They pull up to the Brooks house, to Nathan and Ryan's house. Ryan walks inside and he finds a note. Okay. First of all, he finds a note and then he finds other things in these rooms. The note says, this is Nathan. I murdered two people and I'm going to turn myself.

[Jimmy Wisman]

In. Yeah, that's enough at the.

[James Petregallo]

End. But okay, yeah, this is.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Nathan. A letter ends with your.

[James Petregallo]

Name. That's normal. Also, when you understand what has happened in this house, it couldn't. This note can't be from anyone else. So. No, it's very interesting now. I guess Ryan went in and then he ran out screaming and yelling and basically fucking took off from there. Like, holy shit. Now he calls the cops. What they find inside is a horror movie scene and the cops are freaked out by it. These are small town cops that don't see this type of shit too often. No, nobody really sees this type of stuff too often. So they went in through the front door, turned right now When Ryan went in, he turned right and he saw his mom in the first room. And she is dead in a bed. She has stab wounds all over her and there are nails on her nightstand, which is strange. So then they went into Nathan's room and they find a wash basin sitting there with the dad, Terry, his head is in the wash basin. Just his.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Head. Just a random wash basin with the dad's head in.

[James Petregallo]

It. Just a sitting with ashes all around the basin as well. Something was burned around the head for some reason. Yeah, he was also. There was a rubber like a Halloween mask underneath the skull as well. The head, it was trimmed with a black wig. And so that's strange. The next room is they find the rest of Terry. That.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Is. Oh.

[James Petregallo]

Boy. I guess Terry and Marilyn were sleeping in different rooms and that's how this went down. On the bed by Terry is a saw, an ax and a rifle. Just a choose your own murder adventure kit. So they see that Marilyn is still covered in blood, the comforter soaked. She's in a twin bed. There is a long knife still deeply embedded in her right side above her.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Waist. God.

[James Petregallo]

Damn. And they also see that she's been chopped with an ax. At the bottom of the bed is a ball peen.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Hammer.

[James Petregallo]

Yeah. So it looks like eight people came in and ordered a lot of weapons. She was struck in the back of the head with the hammer and stabbed at least 10 times with a kitchen.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Knife.

[James Petregallo]

Fuck. Terry was shot three times. Yeah, with a.22 caliber rifle. But his head is also taken from his body. Obviously. His headless body is on a bed with his arms above his torso and blood splattered and spattered all over the fucking room. Obviously if you take a head off, it's gonna be messy. Now, Nathan's room, where the head is, there's also what the cops want to call a makeshift altar. He has all this shit on his wall in one particular spot. That's all like, you know, kind of dark stuff. All what they would call Satanism and occult stuff like that. And this is the kicker, they said, because you got to think when this says 1995. 1995 is when they convicted the West Memphis Three. So satanic panic is running rampant through middle America at this point. They also said he even had a Jeffrey Dahmer.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Biography. Oh, is that.

[James Petregallo]

Right? How did. He's guilty. He did.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It. The.

[James Petregallo]

Biography. A true crime book, which our listeners. That's ubiquitous. You know, Just one. Yeah. Come in my office and take a look around. I have hundreds of these books around because people send them to me all the time and I love it. Thank you for doing that. But I have hundreds of these books all over the place. So they believed by looking at this and looking at the head in a wash basin with ashes around it and this shit on the wall and the Jeffrey Dahmer biography that this is all a satanic.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Ritual. Sure seems like it.

[James Petregallo]

Right? Clearly. Now the officers, by the way, there's cops running out of the house to throw up in the yard so they didn't screw up the crime scene. It's. It's not good at all. Now Ryan obviously is fucked up from finding all this he had to this poor bastard.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Yeah. How can he.

[James Petregallo]

Function? Later on he's going to change his name, even get a new Social Security.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Number. So.

[James Petregallo]

New. I didn't even know you could do that. I didn't even know you could do that. But that's how much he wants to disappear and get away from all this. Now the only person who's not here is Nathan. Yeah, there's a note, but. Right, that's.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It. It wasn't the double.

[James Petregallo]

Wide. He was there. Now he's. They don't know. Just apparently as Ryan had been coming home was when Nathan was going to try to find him at the trailer. So they had passed each other in the night and just didn't know it. They had no idea about that. Now cops get radio broadcasts that Nathan is being seen all over the town, everywhere he is like he can fly. I mean, he's at the high school. No, he's not. He's at the Dairy Queen. No, he's not. He's over here. It's crazy, but they finally get a credible report of his location and that was that he was knocking on his friend's.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Door.

[James Petregallo]

Right. So he did. He knocked on their door at 3:00am and you know, that's what's going on. And also Ryan wasn't there and all of that. So they said the weird part is when he came and knocked on the door. Nathan's. They said he just does weird shit sometimes. They said it wasn't really unusual for Nathan to do something weird like that. Because he's weird. It's just a strange thing. One person said Nathan seemed like a normal kid. A little quiet, a little shy, but well mannered and friendly. We can't believe he'd be capable of doing something like.

[Jimmy Wisman]

This. Can't believe.

[James Petregallo]

It. I mean, we don't know he did do it. Maybe he left and then some stark raving bloodthirsty Madman broke in and.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Did this and then signed his name to.

[James Petregallo]

It. Yeah, he's just got great luck. He just happened to not be there. And anyway, so they said, one person said today, there's a lot of fear in people. Fear that things could get out of hand in their families. Fear that problems they're dealing with could explode. This happened so close to home. This is the reverend who knows everybody. So it's just. That's who. They attended church there. So the cops head to Riggs Road, which is out by the trailer park and the cemetery where he cuts the grass. As they pull down the road, they see somebody walking down the middle of the road. Yeah, they're like, well, this has got to be something, right? It's Nathan just walking down the middle of the.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Road.

[James Petregallo]

Good. They stop and they draw their weapons. Fucking stop right now, asshole. He surrenders, he's unarmed, puts his hands.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Up. Hey, guys, if he's got more weapons, this kid's got all of.

[James Petregallo]

Them. He left a variety of weapons in his house there. And he. Not only that, they come up to him and he says, I have another crime to.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Report. What'd you.

[James Petregallo]

Do? And, yeah, he takes the cops to the trailer of his friend, remember the one he knocked on? And they. Whatever, okay. At that trailer. He apparently got into the house after those people went back to bed. Because he brings them to the house and says, look on the wall, there's an envelope. He took a knife and stuck an envelope to the wall with a knife. Like a psychopath in a movie. Think about that. And on the note on the envelope, it says, for Ryan. If anyone else touches, I will kill you. There was money in the envelope. Oh, he left him some money, which is wild. I don't know why he did that. So he starts yapping, telling the cops, he said, I had big plans for this night. He said, I was going to kill a bunch more people. I had a list. I was going to kill a bunch more people that were a list of sacrifices to Satan. And then I would finish the night off by killing myself as an offering to Satan. Duh. Yeah. Wow. Yeah, I'll read. This is from the police report. Okay. Ryan Brooks, the brother, told them that he had returned home and found his parents murdered. At this time, while responding to the scene, dispatch received additional information that the suspect was driving a green Geo Metro. Oh, what a great car. It does get like 58 miles to the gallon, but woof, what a piece of.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Shit. He is going to get far on that tank of gas. He can go Forever if nobody sees.

[James Petregallo]

Him. If he doesn't hit a squirrel and break it so. Which minutes later was spotted near Mount Zion Cemetery. @ this time, the deputy Tom Butler and Bel Air units proceeded to that location first observing the vehicle in question and found the subject away from the vehicle in the roadway running toward the cruisers. He was immediately taken into custody. Sergeant Don Samples. What is this? Proceeded to the residence on Margie Drive and met with emergency squad. We then drove back to the. We. Oh, I'm sorry. We then drove back to the far bedroom to the lane where the residence was. And inside the residence, we found two victims. Terry Brooks was in the far bedroom. His head had been decapitated. Where the head was found in a bowl placed on a chair in an adjacent bedroom. Marilyn Brooks was found in another bedroom with a knife embedded in her chest area. The bed there, where the head was located. There was a rifle, bow saw and hatchet on. On the wall. There was numerous satanic pictures, letters and drawings. In the bedroom where Marilyn Brooks was located, we located an ax under the bed, a hammer laying on the bed, and two nails beside her. The crime scene was roped off. They gathered a large quantity of evidence, and that's how that goes. Now, Nathan had a hit list who was on it. Not only a hit list. He had different hit lists. This is something he'd work on in different places. He had a school hit list. They found one in his locker and one in his bedroom. So he was working at it on two different locations there. He's working at it. Yeah. Initially, they. To calm the public down, the cop said their reports of any kind of hit lists are false. But later on we find out they're not false. They're actually very true. He had a kill list that contained 16 names. 16. He was gonna kill all these people? That's a lot. Yeah, that's a lot. That's.

[Jimmy Wisman]

A shit. How are you gonna get.

[James Petregallo]

All those? The list was said to have his brother Ryan as the first.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Planned victim. Oh, Jesus.

[James Petregallo]

Poor Ryan. Jesus, man. Poor. He lost his parents. His brother wanted to kill him. He had a list of people he wanted to kill, including the local.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Catholic.

[James Petregallo]

Priest. Really? Who he said specifically he wanted to kill. Cut up and eat on a hot dog bun. I don't know why the priest. I don't know if a hamburger bun wouldn't be good enough for him on a bun. Get him some nice Italian. Like a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Hoagie roll. Yeah.

[James Petregallo]

What kind? He's not specific on that one. Potato. We're not sure, but he had A handwritten one. Next to Ryan's name he had dismember, decapitate written. That is wild.

[Jimmy Wisman]

That's why. Imagine finding.

[James Petregallo]

That out. Yes. That's why he was telling him to come home, because he wanted him to come home so he could kill him too. Kill the whole family in one big swoop. There. Wow, that's crazy. So on the same page he had written all these names, things crossed out. He had drawn sketches of Satan and a pentagram. He also jotted down Satan will show you peace at the top of the page. Okay, so he's got Ryan, he's got mother and father listed second and third. Next to his mother's name he has eviscerate.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Crucify nails. Is that what the nails.

[James Petregallo]

Are for? Yeah, that's what they're thinking. They're like, oh shit. He had a plan here. Next to his father's name he had decapitate, which.

[Jimmy Wisman]

He did. He.

[James Petregallo]

Did that? Yeah, he did that. So here's the rest of the list. Amber, Lisa, Justin, Jason, Ryan, Dave, Corey, Jill, Mike.

[Jimmy Wisman]

And Ashley. That's a lot of.

[James Petregallo]

People, man. Now the crazy part is he had little notes next to them like he did with.

[Jimmy Wisman]

His.

[James Petregallo]

Parents. Instructions. Next to one he said, molest some. Just a little, some, not a lot. Let's not get crazy here. Molest some. Others next to them he.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Had skin. Pull their skin off.

[James Petregallo]

Of them. Skin them, which I'd rather be molested some. That sounds better. Just a little. I'd rather have a light diddling than be skinned alive. After two of the girls on the list he had dismember and eviscerate like he had with his mom. Two names are crossed out and no times are listed next to the deleted entries. It's apparent that he planned to carry out these killings and that's what he did. And he had them in groups of like, where you could find them together. Like Amber and Lisa are listed together, as are Jason, Ryan and Dave and Ashley. And one of the scratched out would be victims as well. He changed his mind. He wrote somebody down. He went, yeah, nevermind, they're not.

[Jimmy Wisman]

That bad. Did he think that he was going to be able to just go to these places without.

[James Petregallo]

Anybody knowing? I think.

[Jimmy Wisman]

He.

[James Petregallo]

Did. Wow. And the fucked up part is they said the lists were different. They weren't the exact same lists. So he had like different thoughts. The one cop who found it said they weren't the same. The other list came out and I think there was at least two that the police department and Sheriff's department went through. And mine was different. The one I found in the locker, he. You know, it's. If you picked it up and I had gone through the locker prior to it, I don't think that I would even think of anything of it. Who thinks like that? This is also like pre Columbine. So like if you found a thing, you'd be like this jerk off with his list of people. Fuck you. That's what people would think. They wouldn't even think. Nowadays we take that shit seriously. But back then, nobody took that.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Shit.

[James Petregallo]

Seriously. Unreal. Nobody did. So they sit him down to have an interrogation with him and he's obviously an interesting guy.

[Jimmy Wisman]

There's nothing. Oh, this would be.

[James Petregallo]

So fun. Oh yeah. And he told the cops right away, oh yeah, I was gonna kill my brother. Absolutely, he said, but it went awry cause my brother wouldn't come home. He said that he has, quote, been in hell since I was little. That's what he said. And he said that he felt hate and anger prior to the killings, but was happy after it.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Was done. Now.

[James Petregallo]

He'S happy. Yeah. He also said that he drank some beer, then killed his parents, then took a walk to decide if he should kill.

[Jimmy Wisman]

More people. I'm glad he took the walk, to.

[James Petregallo]

Be honest. That's good, he said. I started drinking. It's good to take a walk and clear.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Your head. Good for your heart is always going to.

[James Petregallo]

Fix things. Yeah, he said. I started drinking some beer. Then I went into my mom's room and I murdered her. And then I murdered my dad, he said. Then I took a walk to think. I said, what were you thinking about? And he said, I was deciding if I should kill more people. He said it wasn't unusual for me to have the urge to kill people. He said, it's always there. Since I was little. It's always.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Been.

[James Petregallo]

There. Wow. He said, I've tried everything and this is amazing. This is his range of everything. I've tried everything. Drugs, church.

[Jimmy Wisman]

I'm numb. Neither of those could.

[James Petregallo]

Do it. I tried drugs, I tried church. Fuck.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It. Nevermind. They were opposites and.

[James Petregallo]

Neither worked. Did you try cross stitching? No, you didn't. Did you. Did you try Crossfit, anything? Drugs and shirts. He's like, well, I'm out.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Of ideas.

[James Petregallo]

That's it. That's all I got. He said, I'm numb. Then right before it happens, there's pain, anger, and. And then afterwards, love and happiness. I thought it was Satan, but it's lies. Oh, he said, yes, he severed his father's head with a saw. No problem, he said. Also the rifle is what he shot him with, and the long handled knife he stabbed his mom with, and a long handled ax as he chopped her with. So the sheriff says, you talk.

[Jimmy Wisman]

To.

[James Petregallo]

Satan? Yeah. And he says, yeah, a little bit. Yeah, we're pals. I mean, you know, it's not every day. I mean, we're not like, you know, tight like that, but, you.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Know, holidays. He doesn't obsess. I.

[James Petregallo]

Don'T.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Obsess. We. We're playing it real casual right now. But yeah.

[James Petregallo]

We talk. I see he's doing something. I'm like, hey, good for you. You know what I mean? He sees I'm doing something, he hits me back. You know, it's one of those, you know, like you have with comedians. It's one of those kind of things. They said, does he talk back to you? Which is a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Great.

[James Petregallo]

Question. Yeah. And Nathan says, yeah, just like you talk to the Lord, sometimes he answers back, oh, boy. No, shouldn't. If any entity, no matter what you want to call it the devil, God, if you hear any of them talking back to you, you're fucking crazy. There's an issue. There's an issue there. You can believe in anything you want, but nobody's talking back to you. There is no voice. So Ryan, he said about Ryan, he said, quote, I drove around looking for him. I didn't want him to see what I did. I wanted him to be with mom and dad. So he didn't want Ryan to find the mess. He just wanted to kill. He then told the sheriff, quote, people don't understand. No, no, we really don't. Yeah, it's been 30 years. I still don't understand. So, no, then this is from the sheriff. The sheriff said, quote, he said he tried to talk to people. He's a very intelligent young man and very well read. Yeah, he knows Latin, for.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Christ's.

[James Petregallo]

Sake. Right? He said, there's a fine line between madness and genius. Oh, yeah, I think he's got a little bit of both here. Wow. That's crazy. Now, the lady who. This is the mother of the boy. Of Eric. Yeah, the boy who. Ryan was at his house here. She said, I've lived here my entire life and I can't think of anything as bad as this. I'm not saying we've never had any crime, but we've never had anything.

[Jimmy Wisman]

This gruesome. Yeah, pretty.

[James Petregallo]

Gruesome. Yeah. And then she said, holy shit. That's when she realized too that he came over to kill his brother at.

[Jimmy Wisman]

My house. At.

[James Petregallo]

Your house. And maybe us too. You know what.

[Jimmy Wisman]

I mean? You.

[James Petregallo]

Don'T know. Now, remember the girl at the Burger King? Yeah. Burger King girl says, quote, he was normal. I don't think that. I think normal is a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Stretch too. He had.

[James Petregallo]

An aura. No, no, that's the bus girl, not the Burger King girl. Different girl. He was normal. He acts way different on the bus than he does down at the Burger King. You can't act up down at the Burger King. He'll kick you right out. She said he was normal. I still can't believe he did this. I knew he had fights with his parents, but so did everybody. So did I. Everybody does. Yeah, I guess so. Wow, that's a lot. Now they offer counseling to the whole high school and all that kind of thing. The high school football coach said. Because we all want to know what the high school football coach. That's who can really put everything into perspective for us. He said, every town, once in a while, I guess, has something bizarre happen, but nothing like this. This is about as bizarre as.

[Jimmy Wisman]

It gets.

[James Petregallo]

You bet. Thank you for that extra information there. Yeah. Now, a few days later, the house is on fire. The.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Murder.

[James Petregallo]

House. Yeah. At 1:30am Fire officials are called in and apparently the front porch is on fire. And they suspect it's a prank. Somebody set the murder house.

[Jimmy Wisman]

On fire. Prank or. They don't want this fucking.

[James Petregallo]

House here? Exactly. One of the two. So anyway, they were called out and they put the fire out. It didn't burn the whole. It just burned the front porch up a little bit. So they had a funeral, obviously. And they talk about. Try to avoid the subject of the sun and everything like that. Now, in jail, he's acting a little strange here. One of the workers, this is the sheriff, James Zusak, said, quote, he would speak English and he would speak fluent Latin, then go back to English. That was really weird to me that he would do that. I didn't know if he was making sense, but that's something that he. But that's something. He worshiped Satan. Of course, I wasn't at the crime scene, thank goodness. But I feel bad for the guys that were. Feel bad for his brother who had to find his parents like that. Yeah, it's real weird for some small town like Eastern Ohio kid to just be speaking fluent Latin in jail. That's not normal, I don't think. They don't get that.

[Jimmy Wisman]

A lot. Probably that'll keep people the fuck away from you. Though, if you.

[James Petregallo]

Know Latin. Yeah, it's really weird. Yeah. They're like, what's.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Going on? You can make that shit sound real, real scary just by speaking, you know what.

[James Petregallo]

I mean? Especially if you're fluent, I would say. One of the deputies said. And when I first encountered Nathan Brooks, he was numb. He did not speak many words, and that was odd for me for to me, for a boy that age. He responded to my questions, but he didn't initiate much. What I remember was that he was a young boy who was very distant. He was polite and compliant, but oddly quiet. Another deputy said, he was always nice to me, but because I knew exactly what he did to his parents, I wouldn't turn my back on him, ever. I didn't get too close. We talked, but I don't remember having any major conversations with him. And that was okay, really, because we were told not to discuss the case with him because it could put the investigation in jeopardy, obviously. So they said that they talked to him and he would just be a real normal kid. And then they said it was like when he reminded me, he was reminded of what he did. It upset him to the extent that he would just go silent. It wasn't like he was put on suicide watch, but it concerned us as well because it was frightening to see him that way. Another one said, when I first met him, he was just very dark and distant. I had never seen someone with dark eyes like Nathan had. He was numb. So a lot of people said that. And he read books, watched tv. He was never classified as a problem inmate or anything like that. You know, nothing there. One lady who worked at the jail said he would ask about my garden. He said his mother had a nice garden and that he would help her at times. So normal shit. Another one said, he said to us what he thought we wanted to hear. I think he wanted us to think he was a nice guy. Hey, everybody. Just going to take a quick break from the show to tell you a better way to handle your money with Rocket money [e-mail]. ever feel like your money just disappears every month? Well, it's easy to overspend. And from subscriptions, they pile up and impulse buy here and there. 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That's Rocketmoney.com SmallTownMurDer Rocketmoney.com SmallTown Murder hey everybody. Just going to tell you a much better smelling and just easier way to deal with your cat litter or with boxy cat. You'll find [e-mail] the worst thing about having a cat. Let's face it, it's the litter. It is nothing else is going to store their, you know, leavings and gather them in a box for you like that. So that is tough. And how great would it be though if it didn't stink anymore? You never smelled it at all. That would be amazing. That would be incredible out there. There's so many cat litter brands and no one has effectively solved distinct problem. Except for Boxy Cat. They have figured it out. We asked the question this week, is the litter box the worst thing about having a cat? And yes, it is, of course. And this is the answer to it. The pro in Boxy Pro, that's what you need to get, stands for probiotics, which stop the bacteria that cause odors so you never smell your litter box again. 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Getting contacts doesn't have to be a hassle. Let 1, 800 contacts get you the contact lenses you need right now. Order online at 1-800-contacts.com or download the free 1-800contacts app today. He was like the kid next door most of the time. He was a friendly kid, but he was there for a reason, I would say. So everybody's kind of like everybody in the jail kind of wants to get a gander at him, see what.

[Jimmy Wisman]

He'S like. He's a little zoo.

[James Petregallo]

Animal. Yeah. So that's everybody's talking to him like that one person said, I can still picture myself standing back by that cell and Nathan having that smile on his face. He was real respectful to us. I never felt threatened by him. But I was careful never to put myself in the wrong position. There were Two parents dead, and we knew he was hunting down his younger brother before he was arrested. And so, yes, something was very wrong. But then we learned about his hit list and the names of others he wanted to kill. I wasn't scared of him, but he was a very empty young man who had those empty eyes and that blank stare. So, yes, it was very eerie to me. So they also talk about how was he going to crucify his mom? Because probably, right, he's got a hammer and he's got nails, and he wrote crucify. And he followed through on his other directive, which.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Was decapitate. So what's the deal with.

[James Petregallo]

The crucifier? They're wondering. Now they're also going, hey, this satanic angle, we got to talk about that. Now. There's a guy named Ralph Srirache who's a. In my opinion, a complete dipshit. Just an absolute fucking clown. Show this guy. He's a dummy. He's a retired NYPD guy and a, quote, general.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Demonic expert.

[James Petregallo]

Oh, nice. Yeah. So this fucking dummy says, quote, I think, wow. He wanted to crucify his mother, but he would have needed the help of Satan to.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Do it. Oh, yeah, he.

[James Petregallo]

Was busy. This is the thing. Satan will show up and help you move, according to this Ralph Sriracha guy. Like, he'll show up. If you got, like, some.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Extra boxes, pizza, and beer.

[James Petregallo]

I'm in. Yeah, you. You rented a, like, a U Haul trailer to tow behind your car. He's going to help you out just for some pizza money. He said, quote, I think demons are smart enough to know that these little penny nails won't hold up a body. Duh. The demons know that. The demons know construction. That's the other thing they're really.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Good at. So he showed up and said, no, no, no, those aren't going to do. Holler at me when you have the.

[James Petregallo]

Right hardware. Yeah, I got to go. I got a whole. Whole. I got to go, like, take care of. I got to burn down a school in South America. Like, I got 200 nuns. I'm going to go.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Do that. They have all the equipment. So holler at me when you have yours, because this is going to take a while. You got to run.

[James Petregallo]

Home Depot. There's a guy down there with gasoline in a match right now. He's ready to go, so I'm going to go hit him up around waiting. Yeah, you. You got these fucking nails wasting my time. Take a trip to Lowe's and get back to me. Have a.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Good one. What are we hanging? What are we.

[James Petregallo]

Hanging? Pictures? We're going to hang.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Your mom. You need much bigger.

[James Petregallo]

Than this. You need better nails than.

[Jimmy Wisman]

This jackass. You got a stud finder? Get one of.

[James Petregallo]

Those, too. So this guy says there's three stages of the demonic is what he gets into. He says. So first is the infestations, where they have permission to infest and haunt a location and activate and manifest in a manner that they wish. Number two is the oppression, which is the psychological breakdown of the individual, where they will start to amplify and are capable of doing so in any sort of negative emotion that a human being can have and to the point where they can end up harming yourself or others. He said. And that's where the influence comes in. He said if possession fully comes over, then there's no bounds to what they're capable of doing. Because ultimately, typically, which is rare when possession happens, is that inadvertently, maybe or vocally? He just said a million words that don't go together and don't mean anything. He's just stalling. They give themselves up to this thing because they just allow it to take themselves over and is trying to get them pushed to the edge. And ultimately, until they just give up and say, you know, just.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Take me. Here's a guy that saw.

[James Petregallo]

The conjuring. This man had a badge and.

[Jimmy Wisman]

A gun. Stop it. That's.

[James Petregallo]

A cop. He's a retired.

[Jimmy Wisman]

NYPD officer. Oh.

[James Petregallo]

My God. This guy could take you to jail. He's insane, in my opinion, he said, because I truly believe evil did have its hands around Nathan's neck. They were right. Cheering him on until he did what he did. I'm sure they wished he committed and completed that list. Thankfully, he wasn't able to complete that. And there was some sort of blockage before he could finish his worst. A blockage? Yeah. Satan couldn't make it. The roads were closed. You know how it goes. I'm sure no one had any idea that he was capable of doing that. That's what a lot of people say, is that they don't think he was capable of doing something like that. But that just shows you the power of.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Demonic.

[James Petregallo]

Influence. Yeah. He's nicknamed all over the newspapers already, Devil in Bel Air. Dark Prince of.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Belmont County.

[James Petregallo]

Dark Prince. One newspaper article just at the headline is Master.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Of.

[James Petregallo]

Death. Master. Master.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Of Death. He got.

[James Petregallo]

His man. Now, a classmate of his sums it up more sanely. Let's just say. I was gonna say cogent, but let's just say sanely and less. Fucking lunatics. Wise. He says he sort of did some crazy stuff, but a lot of people do weird things when they're young, you know. I think he said things because he wanted somebody to stop him. That's all. So now, will there be a Halloween this year? Because this happens. No. This freaks everybody out. Freaks.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Everybody out. That's the guy that.

[James Petregallo]

Did it. Nope. They literally said at this point. And this is a crazy quote. This is from a. I think a reverend. This is a reverend. We've got teenagers sleeping with their parents, adults who won't go out after dark, and parents who never leave their children. Meaning they're all freaked out. Even though he's caught, they all think that Satan has taken over the town. He's going to possess other.

[Jimmy Wisman]

People and there's going to be murders dressed as Evel Knievel. You're going to be.

[James Petregallo]

Possessed.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Obviously. Yeah. You go out with a.

[James Petregallo]

Darth Vader out dressed like he. Man, it's over. Yeah. Forget it. You're fucked, man. You're in deep shit. You're going to be a Mighty Morphin Power Ranger.

[Jimmy Wisman]

There's consequences. You're end up killing.

[James Petregallo]

Your parents. You're gonna do it. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles kill their parents every time. We all know that. So one of them said, quote, I suppose you can argue that it was a pagan ritual, but the way Americans celebrate Halloween has nothing to do with good.

[Jimmy Wisman]

And.

[James Petregallo]

Evil. Okay? Yeah. Anyway, they don't have Halloween. Bel Air asks families not to trick or treat. This year canceled. The year Halloween.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Was canceled. Oh.

[James Petregallo]

My God. Canceled. Canceled, they said. Almost immediately, the town's officials canceled trick or treating because of the rumors about satanic worshiping. And no one knew what else could be involved with Nathan Brooks. Everyone was worried these devil worshippers would do something to the kids. No one knew for sure. No one knew that satanic stuff was taking place around here. It was scary. Everyone was hearing rumors of a list. He's one idiot teenager and he's in jail. It's so.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Fucking crazy. And the only people hurt were.

[James Petregallo]

His parents. That's it. One person said. His father, Terry, was my mailman at the time. And he and I would sometimes talk because he said he was concerned about his kids and how they were doing in school. I got the impression that he put a lot of pressure on those boys with their grades, where they were concerned. But I have no idea if that was one of the reasons why Nathan did what he did. And another one, another friend said she was shocked because she never mentioned anything about Nathan being weird and that he didn't try to recruit her. They would sit together in the library and talk about school and other classmates. But she says he never mentioned wanting to kill anybody or Satan or anything. Now, pretrial, they want his statements to be thrown.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Out.

[James Petregallo]

Obviously. Really? Where he said, I talked to the devil and he talks back and that kind of shit. But the judge rules those can be used. He was read his Miranda rights even at 17. So he's gonna be tried as an adult. And he pleads not guilty by reason of insanity. Oh, which seems reasonable. The prosecutor says that two psychologists will testify that he was legally sane and knew the wrongfulness of his conduct. The defense attorney says that he's insane, period. That's it. We can't argue with what he did, but that's it. He even said that he was mentally ill. He said he made elaborate plans to sacrifice 30 people to Satan. He was obsessed at this point with the killing. He was out of control. He didn't know how, and he couldn't stop. So that's your strategy, is he wanted to kill even more people. Isn't that weird? Crazy, right? So there's three experts brought into the proceedings, and they're split on the point of whether or not he was insane at the time of the murders. The prosecution shrinks here, they tell the judge that Nathan is a, quote, very, very dangerous person and referred to him as a psychopath. Another psychologist said that he may have a personality disorder, but not a severe mental disorder. He said he talked about hiding the gun so his father wouldn't find it. He probably knew it was wrong to have a gun. The defense psychologist, though, said that a man charged with these slayings. I mean, they look crazy.

[Jimmy Wisman]

To.

[James Petregallo]

Me. Yeah. He also said that he was constantly plagued by these desires to kill. He said that Nathan told him as a child he used to nail fishes. Fish to trees and watch them die. As he grew older, he was obsessed with death. And also he's got brain damage by inhaling one to two cans of butane per.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Day.

[James Petregallo]

Right. Yeah. He said that much. That sounds right. I definitely buy that. He said personality tests, two extensive interviews. We did everything. And they all indicate that he is paranoid and schizophrenic. So the verdict, they're basically have to decide crazy or.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Not crazy. That's your.

[James Petregallo]

Choices, huh? That's your choice. He's a young kid and he's 17. 18 at the time of the trial, but a jury of six men and six women, by the way, deliberations take under three hours.

[Jimmy Wisman]

To.

[James Petregallo]

Complete. Wow. Seems like you take more than that. But they find him guilty of two charges of aggravated murder and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. Wow. They said, we know it wasn't an easy task, but forever, whatever it's worth, the court agrees with your verdict. That's what the judge said. Now, sentencing came around, and judge says, you, young satanic man, may fuck off. 43 years, maximum he gets, which is the maximum of what he gets sentenced to here, or what the crime was. One guy here, one of the cops said he asked me what prison was going to be like, or something along those lines. What's it going to be like when I get there? Or something like that. I don't know. Maybe that's when it all became real for him. I don't know. Now, everybody paid attention. One person in the town said that it was in the trial was every single day, in every single newspaper article. Everyone. Everyone wanted to, because they didn't know. They just heard rumors of this list. And at trial is when the list finally came out. So that's when everything went crazy, because they said everyone wanted to know if they were on the list because of all the rumors about it. We wanted to know about this satanic worshipping, too, because before the murders, no one thought it was possible around here. Yeah, you know, small town murder. They said no one was surprised with the results of the trial, obviously. Um, a councilwoman said there had to be a lot of anger and frustration inside that boy. I would think, to do what Nathan did the way he did it, something had to be seriously wrong in that house. In one way, I feel sorry for him because I'll never again see the light of day. And all he has to do in prison is think about what he did. And he do that forever. Something had to happen. That's my theory, anyway. And I think most people in Bel Air would agree with me. But it still haunts Bel Air, I can tell you that. So someone also said about the satanic angle. Someone from town said when the crime occurred, I think the town wanted someone to pin it on. They wanted justice. They wanted some kind of accountability. So instead of looking into the ethereal and spiritual, they wanted straight justice. And so from part of that, they missed a lot of investigating. They said, this is crazy. I think this is a Ralph Soroce guy. He said if he was building rapport with these different deities, demons, whatever you want to call it, did they take. They did take charge of him, because that stuff is real. It truly does happen. And if they did take him over then. That's a form of attachment. He was already doing during the three stages of oppression. He had the depression. What's next? Possession, obviously. Yeah. According to one idiot. I feel like he could have had very much been possessed. And the reason why is my dad was a deer hunter. And with him being a deer hunter, I watched two or three men skin a deer and decapitate it. Nathan decapitated his dad. That's not a one man job. He's saying that demons helped him.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Do this. He couldn't have done it by himself.

[James Petregallo]

He needed. We've heard a hundred stories of someone taking a head off on their own.

[Jimmy Wisman]

No problem. Oh, yeah, no problem. The one we just did yesterday, the guy did it with a piece of a hacksaw with a rag wrapped around the back of it. Yes, you can.

[James Petregallo]

Do it. That's fucking crazy. So they said, they look at us, meaning the demons. They look at us as absolute animals. And that's how Nathan saw his mother that night. Wow. So he goes on to more satanic shit. They said, I don't even know. This is ridiculous, man. Imagine the kind of publicity that would be around this case if Ed and Lorraine Warren had their hands on this case. Forget about it. They also said, this is amazing. One thing also, one of the reasons I think this case wasn't looked at for demonic possession is because of the O.J. simpson trial. He said, this trial would have been way bigger if OJ Wouldn't have happened at this time. Everyone was too concentrated.

[Jimmy Wisman]

On O.J. o.J. Buried this one on.

[James Petregallo]

Page 12. Oh, yeah, absolutely, man. They go to another. The people who made this documentary went to the town for the Bel Air House, which is a haunted house in town. But they ended up saying while they were there, they heard a voice say, eviscerate, and that's why they started looking into this case. So that's. Yeah. The town then gets really nuts about Satan. They have seminars to explore Satanism. Everyone is terrified of Satan at this point. It's fucking insane. A minister said it's called Satanism in the Ohio Valley. And he said, it's been dismissed around us for years, but it's real. He said, the frightening thing is it's not a bunch of kids running around in robes. They're doctors, lawyers, priests and childcare workers. They're humans like me and you. He said, satan will dress up real pretty on Sunday mornings, walk down the aisle, take my hand and say, can I become a part of your church? That's what.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Satan does. Dress Is real.

[James Petregallo]

Pretty on. That's right. As of July 2025, he was prisoner. Nathan was prisoner A33 7726 at the London Correctional Institution in London, Ohio. So there he stays. Yeah, everybody is blown away by this. The one cop that went with him all the time said, I take him to any kind of doctor's visit, psychological visits, court. I always wrote in the back of the cop car with him without a weapon. He was the type of person that looked normal. He acted normal, looked normal. But there was just something you could tell. He.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Worshiped Satan. You.

[James Petregallo]

Could tell. You could tell. You could see it in his beady, Satany.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Eyes. Wow. Feel it. You can taste.

[James Petregallo]

It. Shit. Yep. So his parole. He has a parole hearing that has just been delayed till November. But then I don't think it happened again. So he might get parole, but I don't think so. So they said that after 1995 when they resumed trick or treating, by the way. Parents all went with their kids again. It was turned.

[Jimmy Wisman]

Into that. You're gonna save them. He killed his parents, for Christ's sake. You're.

[James Petregallo]

Not safe. Not safe at all. There's a bunch of people that talk about him later on. One person said the night that happened, he actually hid on our front porch under the table when police went by. He also dug up a few graves in the cemetery by our house that night. I don't know if he had time to do that. No one who lived through that time or knew that or knew them, is offended by the story. Don't be ashamed. For somebody said that you shouldn't talk about these people. And I like this one, this comment, quote, Nathan was an ass Jack. Not a jackass. An ass Jack. So there you go, everybody that is Bella, he's an ass Jack. Bel Air, Ohio, everybody. And some crazy small town Satan shit. So there you go. Very quickly, shut up and give me murder.com. get your tickets to live shows. Nashville, Durham, Atlanta, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, Denver, Buffalo, Royal Oak, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Jose, Sacramento, Tarrytown, Boston. All for sale right now. Get them there. Patreon.com crime and sports can't beat it. $5 a month. All the bonus stuff we've ever done, plus new ones every other week. This week. Australian cricketer who can't keep it in his pants for crime and sports. Charles Starkweather, Part 2. Is it him or his 13 year old girl that murders 11 people? I wonder. His 13 year old girlfriend. So there's that. Check that out. Patreon.com CrimeInSports Also you get everything ad free with that follow on social media, Smalltown Murderer on Instagram, Small Town Pod on Facebook. Keep coming back and seeing us week after week and until next week everybody, it's been our pleasure. Bye. Everyone deserves to be connected. That's why T Mobile and US Cellular are joining forces. Switch to T Mobile and save up to 20% versus Verizon by getting built in benefits they leave out. Check the math@t mobile.com switch and now T mobile is in US cellular stores. Savings versus Comparable Verizon plans plus the cost of optional benefits, plan features and taxes and fees vary. Savings with three plus lines include third line free via monthly bill credits Credit stop if you cancel any lines. Qualifying.

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